OUTSTANDING LOGGER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Join SWPA in searching for Georgia and Florida’s outstanding loggers of the year!

Whether you are a forest landowner or industry professional, use this opportunity to nominate a professional timber harvesting business that has exceeded your expectations and is deserving of recognition.

Businesses nominated should be a credit to their profession and consistently demonstrate the qualities of an exceptional timber harvesting operation.

These include, but are not limited to:

Compliance with all applicable laws

Evidence of safety and loss control program

Equipment maintenance practices

Personnel management

Environmental considerations

Wood security practices

Business management

Sustainable harvesting

Finally, the business must be a participant in Master Logger (in Florida) or Master Timber Harvester (in Georgia) programs and a resident of the state for which they are nominated.

The selection process will place significant emphasis upon evidence of sustainable harvesting and business practices.

All potential qualified harvesting businesses should be considered, regardless of operation size. Nominations will be reviewed and award recipients selected by the SWPA Joint Logger of Year Committees based on the highest point value attained during the evaluation process.

The SWPA Joint Committees include SWPA, industry, associated industry and merchants, and state SFI committee representatives.

Nominations must contain the following information:

Business name and business owner’s name(s),

Address

Best contact phone numbers

Area of operation and a brief summary detailing why the nominee should be the Outstanding Logger of the Year.

Anonymous nominations will be accepted provided the nomination package is complete and the nominee has agreed to participate.

Initial consideration of nominees and site visits will be based on the information provided in the nomination.

Prior winners of this award must wait 10 years before becoming eligible for consideration in a current year.

SWPA will present the “Outstanding Logger of the Year” award at our Annual Meeting. The Georgia and Florida forestry associations may also choose to recognize recipients at their annual meeting events.

For more information, please contact Tommy Carroll at (478) 952-2809.

2017 Outstanding Logger of the Year Recipents

2017 Georgia Logger of the Year

Daniel DunaganDaniel Dunagan, Inc.Rome, GA

Daniel Dunagan grew up surrounded by the logging industry. As a little boy he loved chainsaws, big trucks, bulldozers and all the big machines that powered a logging operation. It would become his dream to learn each piece of equipment and one day own his own logging company.

Daniel learned the logging trade by working for his father’s logging company throughout high school and even while in college. He is a native of Armuhee, Georgia where he graduated from Armuchee High School in 2001 followed by earning a Bachelor’s of Business Administration degree from Kennesaw State University (KSU) in 2006. Upon graduation he continued to work for his father, Tommy Dunagan, and helped manage the crew.

In October 2009 Daniel took $10,000 from selling his small heard of cows along with a few loans to purchase used equipment and trucks, and started his own business, Daniel Dunagan Inc. (DDI). He did all of the bookkeeping, payroll, truck tags, timber bids, and office work in the evenings himself, and still worked in the woods all day running a loader, any machine, driving a big truck and buying his own timber. He gradually started buying new equipment and trucks that offered warranty plans to keep out of pocket repair costs down. In 2013 he began expanding into 4 crews and 2 full time office staff which leveled out at 38 employees. Over the last year, Daniel has strategically repositioned his employees and equipment into two crews to minimize overhead costs and maximize production. He based these transitions on weekly expense reports that analyze each crew’s productivity along with stiff quotas and decreased wood prices. He currently has a full-time mechanic, welder, runner, two office staff, 11 truck drivers, and 9 woodsmen. He runs John Deere, Tiger Cat and Prentice machines paired with Mack, Western Star and Peterbilt trucks. He has over 50 trailers that run the spectrum plus four new Pitts trailers with custom air ride suspension that gauge the trailers weight using air pressure to keep loads at legal weight limits. The new trailers also have built-in brake control which will improve driver wear-and-tear on trucks and trailers along with better safety for pulling. Daniel still buys all his own wood and determines where he will be based on what is needed that given day.

Daniel’s wife, Maggie Wilson Dunagan, from Forsyth Georgia, also grew up around the logging industry. She runs the office and oversees internal operations. They met at KSU and have been married 10 years. They live in Rome, Georgia with their three children, Georgia (6), Sawyer (4), and Gretchen (2). Daniel is a member of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, First Baptist Church of Rome and enjoys being with his family, teaching his kids to fish and play ball, and of course being in the woods logging.

2017 Florida Logger of the Year

David & Sam GriffisD & S Griffis Timber, Inc.Live Oak, FL

Logging has always been a tradition in the Griffis family, David started his own business in 1996 as a two-man crew and his son Sam joined him in 2004. As the business continued to grow David and Sam decided to become “D&S Griffis Timber, Inc.” in 2011. It has grown with every aspect of logging, (new equipment and semi-trucks). Their production is at an all-time high.

With the love and support of their wives, Chessy and Mindy taking care of the office duties the company will grow for generations to come. Our grandson / son, Peyton Griffis already has his eyes set on the skidder. D&S Griffis Timber, Inc. supports others in need and works with a humble hard working hand and heart. We humbly thank you all for the recognition. It truly means a lot.